SlaithwaiteMillpond

08/06/2026

06/06/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #99

Well, that was nice while it lasted, the brief summer. If I’m being completely honest with you; it was a bit too hot for me. Still, there’s quite a busy month ahead for us down at the millpond and elsewhere.

On Saturday the 13th our very fancy gazebo, courtesy of the Kirklees’ Community Plus funding, gets a long over-due first outing at Slaithwaite Duck Race 2026. At the time of writing, there are just 50 or so ducks available so book your duck soon! There are great prizes, many fun activities for all the family and funds are being raised in support of the 33rd Slaithwaite Scout Group, or as they are known to us; The Indomitable 33rd.

The following Saturday, is Saturday the 20th and I’m hoping to recruit a few more determined souls that are willing to join the fight against the enemy at our doorstep (and quite possibly conducting reconnaissance of your gardens!). Our third Saturday of the month Community Working Party is being referred to as The Battle of the Balsam. For good reason, the sea of Himalayan balsam marching its way along the watercourse towards the village presents a formidable foe. We plan to fight back hard. Sadly, it’s not a war that we are likely to win any time soon but we are going to make a push in the right direction. If you are interested in volunteering send me a DM or an email to [email protected] with your contact details.

We are delighted to tell you; just a few days later, Monday the 22nd of June, an ecological survey of the site is being conducted. We will soon have a fuller understanding of the flora and fauna and this will help us, to no end, map-out our plans to enhance bio-diversity. We are so very grateful to a patron, that wishes to remain anonymous, for funding this essential element of our endeavours moving forward. Thank you.

All in all, I’m predicting a very good month for Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond. As for the weather… hmm... let’s hope the Met Office are wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.

More from us soon.

23/05/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #98

From the generosity of Jewson to seeds in the ground. It starts with a phone call asking for a charitable discount, a resounding yes! from Stephanie Copper at your local branch of Jewson. The delightful Brian delivers before we have had a chance to get our heads around two and a half tonnes of crusher run, totally free of charge.

Meanwhile, Committee member, Craig produced an amazing graphic of his concept for the wild flower beds by the lower millpond. Then it’s over to the small army of volunteers from that “large engineering company” to bring Craig’s vision to fruition and finally on to seeds in the ground.

One of many journeys and of course there’s not a lot I can show you right now, they are seeds after all. Still, we are just helping nature with our endeavours. Quite a lot of rectifying the fly-tipping abuse that this land has suffered but let’s not dwell on that. This land is fast becoming a beautiful place to be. Yes, we have a long way to go to restore the industrial heritage by getting the watercourse working again and yes, we are a long way from introducing bio-filters to clean the River Colne BUT...

It is already a beautiful place to be and it’s only going to get better with your support, if you are interested in volunteering send me a DM or an email to [email protected] with your contact details.

Meanwhile, I do hope you enjoy the additional photos that I have included in this post, I know I did, that last one, I’m told, is Marsh Valerian, truly stunning.

Wishing you all a great Bank Holiday weekend.

More from us soon.

10/05/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #97

Three updates in a week! Sorry if that’s a bit much but we do have an important announcement regarding May’s third Saturday of the month Community Working Party (May 16th). Basically, there isn’t one. Our people will be busy on that day volunteering at Nields Road School, instead.

Yesterday’s Slaithwaite Community Groups on Show event was a great success, which is no surprise. Our very own, Duncan Henderson, had a big hand in helping the 33rd Slaithwaite Scout Group with the logistics (pictured here with Committee Member Kara Ali). Earlier today, I spoke with Kara who said

“…fantastic event showcasing the amazing groups that support our community, lots of people came and engaged

“…they were excited by the progress and future plans for the restoration of the millpond”.

In other matters, I have had a couple of requests for photos of the actual achievements that the various working parties have been making recently, quite rightly so. You are not alone, I have been asking for the very same photos for a while now. Well, here they are and it’s all rather impressive, in fact it’s amazing what has been achieved.

Last but by no means least. I’m told; our friendly neighbourhood videographer, Robert Kerr, filmed the Slaithwaite Community Groups on Show, so we all know what that means.

More from us soon.

08/05/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #96

About that “large engineering company” we have mentioned previously. Well, a small army of their volunteers arrived in force on Wednesday. Instinctively they formed target-based sub groups and cracked on with; processing a massive amount of willow, clearing the lower millpond boarder and producing an ideal arrangement of the aggregates for wild flower planting.

They unearthed paths that we didn’t know existed, making the site even safer for future volunteers. Completely transformed a back-flow reservoir, collected a ridiculous amount of detritus and produced some remarkably sturdy dead hedges. We were particularly impressed by the Zen-like raking of the aggregate mounds, reminiscent of Japanese ornamental gardens. Totally unnecessary because the mounds will be covered in wild flowers but hats off for attention to detail. That’s engineers for you, attention to detail is most definitely their thing.

In other matters, the indomitable Scouts of the 33rd were back on-site last night. Sadly, I haven’t got a lot of information and zero photos I can share with you. I’m told, they were many and they produced a very habitable bug hotel and other associated habitats. They battered a load of Himalayan balsam (good riddance) and did a bit more of that very therapeutic willow sprig weaving. I’m sure whatever the Explorers of the 33rd produced last night was amazing it always is!

There’s a reason for our communications breaking down a bit, it’s a very good one. Our people are running around in preparation for tomorrow’s Slaithwaite Community Groups on Show event. Hope to see you there.

More from us soon.

30/04/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #95

We are an ambitious charity and we have had to listen to our fair share of naysayers along the way; “you will never raise that much money”, they said. “working with minors is more trouble than it is worth” they said. Thankfully, our Chair is Generation X, as am I for that matter and if you tell us; it can’t be done or it is too much work, we are just going to double down and make sure it gets done.

Today we welcomed year 6 students from Two Gates School to the project, the same children that our Committee Member, Duncan Henderson, enthralled with his introductory lecture.

Today, we brought to fruition one of the charity’s primary goals; we welcomed the next generation of conservationists to the conservation project. It’s their project, it always was. Hopefully, we can continue to engage with children from the Forest School project but sadly this is in doubt due to funding issues moving forward.

I’m told; the students were amazing, they all worked so very hard. They cleared a large area of Himalayan balsam, processed a significant volume of willow into sprigs for weaving and future material for habitat creation and created some very impressive bug hotels. There was also, a bit of spontaneous tree hugging because why not!

Of course, none of this would have been possible if not for the generosity of Ryder & Dutton estate agents and No. 27 cocktail and wine bar, who provided funding for the students PPE. Together they have funded sufficient PPE for the 10-to-13-year age group.

We would very much like to welcome even younger conservationists to the project. To this end, we have launched a funding campaign for PPE in smaller sizes, on our GoodHub platform.

If you can help, please do. We have negotiated incredibly low, low prices from our supplier Safetec and £2.00 will provide a pair of safety glasses. £2.70 buys a pair protective gloves and £1.75 puts a child in a hi-vis vest. www.goodhub.com/go/ppe

Last but by no means least, we were joined today by our friendly neighbourhood videographer Robert Kerr. So, we all know what that means.

More from us soon.

28/04/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #94

What lovely people Jewson are and not just because they have donated two and a half tonnes of aggregates to the cause. They were an absolute pleasure, from the kindness of the branch manager Stephanie to the most accommodating and professional delivery man Brian, everything went like clockwork.

These aggregates will be put to use early next month when a large engineering company will be sending a small army of volunteers to the project. They will be creating the sites for seeding the wildflowers and sowing them just in time for the season. This is amongst a whole heap of other activates including; dead hedging, Himalayan balsam pulling and bird and bat box site selection.

In other matters; it’s that time of year again and the memorial trees will be getting thirsty, particularly the Susan French willow. Such a vibrant tree, which I’m told, perfectly represents the vibrancy she gave the world. The trees are all doing very well, especially the Simon Fielding silver birch which is by far exceeding our horticulturalist’s expectations. Quite fitting really, dearly departed Committee Member, Simon, always exceeded our expectations with his endeavours on behalf of the charity.

We are always looking for new volunteers and Committee Members, if anyone is interested in joining the watering rota send me a DM or an email to [email protected] It’s a simple process, pictured here by local photography enthusiast Nigel. He captured the excellent images on our flyers and promotional material. Thanks Nigel. I can always tell when it’s you behind the lens, the pictures I get are really good, with absolutely no thumbs in shot!

Of course, there is so much for volunteers other than joining the watering rota, important as it is. We are currently looking for a new Treasurer. Book keeping and funding application experience would be helpful but not essential. If this is you, please get in touch.

More from us soon.

18/04/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #93

It turned out nice again! Today’s Community Working Party was a great success. FoSM members; Duncan, Paul, Keith and Kara were joined once more by the 33rd Scout Group. Scouts Eva, N and Ruben, Explorer Rhys and Group Leader Richard displaying the indomitable spirit that we have come to expect from the 33rd. So much was achieved in preparation for the habitat creation visit from Two Gates School at the end of the month.

Sites were selected and many logs were moved West towards the weir and ground was cleared for planting. I understand, the willow sprig weaving turned out to be a lot harder than Craig made it look at the last working party but the scouts were more than up to the task. Rhys and Paul worked tirelessly, carrying and preparing what is affectively three trees worth of material. Our Chair was particularly impressed by Ruben’s assessment of the access path safety, his understanding of Moorhen nesting habits and the solution he independently found, one that considered the issues presented. Talking at our post event meeting he said

“… the 33rd are all so very impressive, they never cease to impress but yes, if you want one example that encapsulates the group’s conservation knowledge and problem-solving capabilities, then that’s a very good one”

In other matters, the amazing people of the Huddersfield branch of Jewson have so very kindly offered to supply soils and aggregates completely free of charge! Having paid full price for seeds from another company, Jewson’s generosity rounded off a very productive week on an extremely positive note. Massive thanks to Ashby’s Café once again, they so very kindly provided refreshments for the workers.

More from us soon.